Case Assessment Guidebook - Article Example

Running Head: CASE ASSESSMENT GUIDEBOOK Case Assessment Guidebook Case Assessment Guidebook Arson is to blame in over 25% of all fires and is the second leading cause of death in incendiary residential occurrences. Arson has been an exceedingly difficult crime to solve, only about fifteen percent are closed by arrest and that only two percent lead to a conviction. Growing in number, juveniles now account more than half of all arson related fires (Arson, 2007). Fire is also a very available resource, a book of matches or a lighter gives anyone access to a potential murder weapon. This availability coupled with motives of revenge or greed, curiosity or mental imbalance makes fire a dangerous weapon. One of the difficulties with arson is categorizing the reasons or motives behind the crime. Since motive is a major part of any criminal investigation this can cause some problems in solving the crime. Some causes are merely vandalism, while others are methods of terrorizing neighborhoods or intimidating store and property owners, as well as tenants. In one case reported in New York City in February of 2007 the NYC Fie Department responded to a fire at 225 West 146th Street and their was evidence that an accelerant was involved. They subsequently discovered that the landlord, in retaliation to tenants complaining about substandard conditions, had set the fire. (Moorer, 2007, p. 15) Arson can also be politically motivated ranging from civil disobedience to hate crimes. In rural Alabama a series of church fires in predominately black communities, were under investigation for arson. The culprits were three college students who confessed and were convicted of hate crimes. (Willimon, 2000, p. 11) Arson is also committed by someone who simply finds the fire itself to be very exciting and that is often his or her only motivation for starting it. These are termed pyromaniacs and will be discussed later. Other motives for arson include murder as well as suicide. And it is also utilized to conceal another crime, burning all evidence away in its wake (Peterson, 1994). This is also one of the main difficulties for the arson investigator. Not only may arson be concealing the commission of another crime, but also the fire and destruction involved often make it difficult to discover proof of arson itself. The firs step in a arson investigation is proving that the origins of the fire were intention, willful and/or malicious. Next that there is a motive for the crime and that there is sufficient proof available to prosecute. Unfortunately for the investigator, arson is often a crime that erases much of the available evidence. This is both in the nature of the fire as well as the efforts to pout forth to extinguish it. What the fire does not destroy the water often does. Often a timer is used so that the arsonist can be miles away when the fire occurs. (Peterson, 1994, p. 112) One of the most troubling types of arsonist are termed serial arsonist. Much like serial killers, their motivations are often difficult to discern and they commit their crimes for reasons only they are aware of. Usually they are described as having some conduct disorder in early childhood that has extended itself into their adult lives and also they may also suffer from anti-social personality disorder. Serial arsonists (also refereed to as firesetters.) may randomly pick targets of opportunity as opposed to targets of a more purposeful motive such as revenge. They fall into two classifications: local arsonists who prefer sites nearby their own home and those who travel some distance. The former are usually less educated and often a good deal of evidence at the crime scene. The latter are generally better educated and highly organized. They make use of more elaborate devices, and leave almost no evidence at the crime scene. (Peterson, 1994, p. 114) There is also a further subset that is quite disturbing, that of a firefighter who is also a arsonist. Their motives typically stem from a desire to be a hero to the crowd and other firefighters as well as to experience the excitement of the scene and putting out the fire. (Peterson, 1994, p. 114) This subset, and often the psychological profile of some firefighters, can fall into a further category, that of pyromaniacs. Pyromaniacs tend to be serial arsonist and will most often repeat their patterns with ever escalating events. Pyromaniacs are arsonists who do not appear to be suffering to any significant extent from formal mental disorder or to be operating from motives of gain or revenge. They appear to derive a pathological excitement from, and involvement in, setting the fire, attending the scene, busying themselves at it or having called out the fire brigade in the first instance. (Prins, 1994, p. 253) The motives for pyromania are somewhat different than that of a serial arsonist, although the two share many traits. These motives can include: the premeditated and well planned fire setting on multiple occasions; arousal and tension prior to the act; fascination with fire and its situational context; a sense of relief and /or pleasure when setting fires. Furthermore a secondary vicarious pleasure is experienced in the witnessing of the investigation after the event. Some even prefer to be questioned by the police as a witness in order to further their satisfaction. This can go beyond the usual activity for conduct disorder or anti-social personality disorder. (Prins, 1994) However, the psychopathology of an adult arsonist usually includes an unstable and or abusive childhood and often severe psychological disturbances. One of the most important characteristic regarding the motivations of a psychopath is that there is virtually no difference from other non-psychopathic criminals. Psychopathic criminals are slaves o the same desires and motivations as other criminals. (Turvey, 2002, p. 416) A lack of remorse and the non-existent conscience can also be a contributory component for their behavior. This vacant emotional state allows the psychopath to exhibit normally abhorrent behaviors giving them the psychological faculty to do what most of mankind considers unthinkable and reprehensible. (Turvey, 2002, p. 416) These can also be the precursors of many different posttraumatic maladies including conduct disorder and anti-social personality disorder. In a child who has discovered firesetting as one way to express himself or herself, the adult seeking revenge can be a dangerous criminal, seeking retribution for either real or imagined wrongs (Prins, 2005). The investigator will find that evidence of an incendiary event such as arson will include the following criteria: No reasonable accidental explanation of the cause; the presence of larger amounts of accelerants than would normally be expected; evidence of an ignition device or delayed ignition device; trails and flash origin as well as multiple points of origins. (Krzeszowski, 1989, p. 26) An accidental fire will amost always have a singular point of orign, such as a cigarette on a bed, or s fuse box, etc. After suspicion has been developed that arson may be the cause of the fire, several other avenues are pursued. Further investigation of the scene may show that if gasoline was used as an accelerant there may be tell tale signs of puddling on the floor of the structure leaving a characteristic char pattern, which is unlike any to be found in an accidental fire setting. There also may be dripping patterns that are visible through floorboards where an accelerant has trickled down through them as it burns. Furthermore, forensic laboratories can analyze a fire scenes remnants to determine if there is a high level of accelerants in the surrounding structure and whether or not some type of delayed delivery device was use, such as a timer of other mechanism. After the investigator establishes an incendiary cause a full investigation must be initiated to locate the criminal or criminals involved. One of the first places to look is to see who would benefit from the fire, such as the beneficiary of an insurance policy and so on. (Krzeszowski, 1989, p. 26) Investigators of arson not only look for the basic characteristic of a crime, means motive and opportunity, but also for a fourth element involving the victim/suspect, which is anticipation. For instance, if the owner of an office building or other property suddenly decided to remove any personal belongings, important files, cash on the premises, or any household pets just prior to a fire occurring, this may indicate advance knowledge available only the to perpetrator of the crime. For the serial arsonist investigator the following guidelines are imperative: The investigator must ascertain that the behavioral evidence is adequate to identify an offender. Discovering if the behavioral evidence is predictive of the criminal’s desires, and whether or not the behavioral evidence does indeed point to a signature and to an escalation or evolution in the criminal’s fantasy continuum, and/or whether the criminal’s signature seems to be comparatively unchanging over time. (Turvey, 2002, p. 285) References Arson. (2007) US Fire Administration. FEMA. Retrieved on October 20, 2009 from http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/arson/ Krzeszowski, Frank E. (1989) Matching Wits with the Arsonist. Security Management July: p. 26 Moorer, Talise D. (2007) "Harlem Tenants Say Arson, Violations Plague Buildings". New York Amsterdam News 98, p15-30. Peterson, Marilyn B. (1994). Applications in Criminal Analysis: A Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Praeger. Prins, Herschel.(1994). Fire-Raising: Its Motivation and Management. London: Routledge. Prins, Herschel. (2005). Offenders, Deviants or Patients?. 3rd ed. London: Routledge. Turvey, Brent E. (2002). Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis [2nd Edition]. San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press. Willimon, William H. (2006). .Arsonists at Play. Christian Century, 123 p. 11. Read More